She got up and paced to keep warm and kill time. She walked around until her pumps got caught in the grey cobblestones and she had memorized the placards posted for tourists. She learned that Logan Square used to be a site of public executions, that the Swann Fountain was named after the president of the Philadelphia Fountain Society, and that the three verdigris statues at the center of the fountain – man, woman, and young girl – represented the three rivers of Philadelphia: the Schuylkill, the Delaware, and the Wissahickon. She hoped that Lou learned something more useful, or at least, more interesting.

An hour later Mary saw Paige and Trevor pay the bill and leave the restaurant. As soon as they were out of sight, Lou got up and went after them. She couldn't suppress her excitement. What had Lou overheard? What if they were both in on it? She shivered, this time with anticipation, and trained her eyes on the hotel entrance. In time Lou came out, crossed the valet parking area, and walked briskly across the street and toward the park bench.

Mary stood up. Tell me, tell me, tell me!' she said, practically jumping up and down.

'Cheese and crackers! It's cold out here!'

'What'd you get?'

'A Caesar, to start, then I went with the Chilean sea bass, not the steak. For dessert, I had the chocolate chiffon cake with a decaf cappuccino. It hit the spot.'

'No, I mean, what did you hear?'

'Nothing.'

'What?' Mary was crestfallen. 'You didn't hear anything?'

'I heard, but they didn't say anything that mattered. They talked the whole time about nothing. He talked about his French test and his track team. She talked about Wu-Tang.'

'Wu-Tang?' Mary flopped down on the bench, dejected.

'That mean something to you?'

'It's music. A rap group.'

'Rap!' Lou snorted. 'Rap isn't music. Stan Getz is music. Or the Bird. Or Miles.'

Mary was too disappointed to debate it. 'So my lead doesn't pan out.'

'Don't take it too bad.' Lou sat down on the bench, tugging on his corduroy pants first so they didn't wrinkle. 'You didn't ask me where they are now.'

'Where they are now?' Mary looked over at him, then brightened. 'Where are they?' She checked the hotel entrance. They didn't come out. You came out but they didn't!'

They're inside. They tried to get a room.'

'A room?' Her mouth dropped open. She didn't know she was such a prude. Well, she kind of did. They tried to get a room together?' •,

'No separate.' Lou snorted. 'Of course, together.'

That's disgusting. They're way too young for that.'

'Not possible. Anyway, the hotel was booked and they didn't have a reservation. The room is beside the point, anyway.'

'It is? Why?'

'Because they're having sex in the cloakroom.'

'What?' Mary was astounded, but Lou checked his watch matter-of-factly.

'They should be done by now.'

'Done?'

'He's young. What can I say? We all go through it.'

Mary ignored him. 'How do you know this?'

'I followed them after they got turned down at the reception desk: I thought they were going out to the atrium but they took a quick right into the cloakroom. It's right off the main lobby.'

Mary sat back in the bench, appalled. 'Her mother was just killed. When does grief-stricken start?'

'Hold off on that. Mare.' Lou's eyes watered as he squinted against the cold wind. Sterling silver filaments of his hair flew around wildly. 'Look, if she were my kid, I'd smack her one. The both of 'em are outta control, you ask me. Rich kids. They think they're entitled.'

Mary nodded in agreement. Sometimes Lou sounded so much like her father it was scary. Mary decided that Italians and Jews weren't so different, except that Italians had even more guilt.

'It isn't good behavior, but it doesn't mean the kid killed her mother. I know, I've seen lots of victims' families. One father, when I told him his kid was dead, he just laughed and laughed. You can't judge by that. People show their grief in different ways.'

'Sex in public is mourning?'

'Yeah, for some people.'

Mary glanced at the hotel dubiously. 'Wonder when they'll come out. She told us Trevor had a class at three.' She checked her watch. It was almost three o'clock now. 'She lied about that.'

'Maybe she didn't lie. Maybe she talked him out of it.'

'I don't understand.'

'You're not a man. End of story.'

'Hmmm.' Mary watched the entrance, feeling torn. She wanted to see how long the two of them were there and what they did next, but she also felt guilty leaving Judy back at the office. She explained the quandary to Lou as she reached into her bag for her flip phone, dialed the office number, and left a message. 'She's not there,' she said as she slid the antenna down with a flat palm. 'So I should stay, at least.'

'Stay? In this cold?'

'You go back to the office. I'll stay here.' Suddenly Mary felt a surge of well-being. Dividing labor. Managing the case. Pushing old men around. Was this what they meant by empowerment?

'What are you gonna do here alone?'

'Watch when they come out, maybe follow them. Surveill them,' she answered, but Lou was looking at her, his eyes blank pools of blue in a tan, lined face. Either he didn't understand real police lingo or resented her empowerment. 'All right, Lou. You're the cop here. Help me out. Tell me what to do.'

'I'll stick around. See what happens.'

'Okay, good. I approve.'

'Like it matters.'

Mary smiled. 'I think you enjoy our quality time.'

'I think I got nothin' better to do. Plus I don't want you near that kid, the boy. I don't like him. He's a punk.'

Mary felt her suspicions gain strength. Lou knew this stuff. 'You think Trevor's in on it?'

'I don't know who's in on what. To me, the jury's out on the both of them. I don't know enough to make any conclusions, except that for kids with a lotta class, they got no class.' *

Mary didn't disagree.

Mary and Lou watched the entrance to the Four Seasons through two cups of hot coffee, three soft pretzels, and a hot dog with sauerkraut, which she had carted from a hot

dog stand in front of the Academy of Natural Science. At three-thirty, she switched to chocolate water in a white Styrofoam cup. There was still no sign of either Paige or Trevor, although Mary saw the entire partnership of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius leave a firm luncheon, laughing and talking. They'd had a good year. Again.

'Why does everybody hate lawyers?' she asked Lou, sipping lukewarm chocolate water. She kept her eyes on the hotel entrance.

'Because they can,' Lou answered. 'It's like that dog joke. You know that joke.'

'Yes, you told me that joke. The punch line is, "Because they can," right?'

'Right,' Lou said, though he didn't remember telling Mary that joke. He would never tell a woman that joke, and even though Mary was a kid, she was still a woman. 'Did I really tell you that joke?' he asked, to double-check.

'Yes,' she said, watching and sipping.

If he did, Lou regretted it.

Mary was giving Lou a pop quiz. 'Do you know what the three statues in the Swann Fountain are?'

Lou squinted behind him at the still fountain. 'Naked.'

'No. They're a man, woman, and young girl.'

'Naked.'

'No!' Mary's teeth chattered. 'I mean, do you know what they represent? Beside the Newlins?'

'No clue.'

The three rivers of Philadelphia. Can you name them?'

'The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria '

'No.'

'Manny, Moe, and Jack?'

'No.'

'Moe, Larry, and Curly?'

Mary waited.

'Okay, tell me,' Lou said, after a time.

'It's them! They're out!' Mary leapt from the frosty bench when she saw Paige and Trevor materialize at the entrance to the Four Seasons, looking remarkably remote for a young couple that had just had sex in a coatroom. They weren't even holding hands, a fact that Mary couldn't help noting. 'See?' she said.